Ag Policy Blog

Countering criticism from some organizations about plans to move USDA's Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA stated Monday the department had received 136 expressions of interest from 35 states to become the new homes for the...

The American Farm Bureau Federation is spotlighting the record demand for temporary farm labor under the H-2A program for the federal fiscal year 2018 that hit 242,762 certified positions, a 21% increase over 2017 figures.

USDA has announced changes to many rules, according to the fall 2018 Unified Agenda released by the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

Hurricane Michael landed in Florida Panhandle and Alabama on Wednesday as it seemed to continue building steam and is expected to move northward into the Carolinas, which are just starting recovery from Hurricane Florence last month. This comes around to attention given this...

FFormer USDA subcabinet agency heads wrote congressional agriculture leaders this week that they oppose the Trump administration's plans to move the Economic Research Service under the Office of the Chief Economist, and a coalition of 45 agriculture groups wrote agriculture...

As he heads to Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Tuesday, President Donald Trump is directing the EPA to draft a rule allowing year-round sales of 15 percent ethanol blends and also examine different ways to allow more transparency in the market for Renewable Identification Numbers that...

While the argument over work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has drawn most of the attention, a couple of tweaks to base acres in the House version of the farm bill also is a sticking point in the talks.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Thursday he favors removing the Section 232 tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum which has led those countries to impose tariffs on U.S. farm products.

President Donald Trump and his staff have characterized the dairy provisions of the trade agreement reached Sunday with Canada as a great accomplishment, but U.S. dairy groups on Monday reacted with caution. Ag groups, overall are hopeful of the new agreement.

The farm bill was put on the shelf Friday until after the mid-term election. After votes on Friday, the House of Representatives has gone out of session until after the November 6 election.

The four principals of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, including Chairmen Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Rep. K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, and Ranking Members Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., all met again Wednesday and released a single...

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue defended every aspect of plans to place the Economic Research Service under the Office of the Chief Economist and to move most National Institute for Food and Agriculture employees out of the Washington area in a letter to Senate...

Trade disruptions in Iowa looking at soybeans, pork and corn combined will impact the Iowa economy somewhere in the range of $1.68 billion to $2.216 billion looking at direct effects and additional related losses in different sectors of the economy.

If Congress does not pass a new farm bill by September 30, the 23 organizations that use government funds to promote purchases of U.S. commodities in foreign countries will face an immediate funding gap that could cause some of them to start letting staff go and closing...

The National Farmers Union on Tuesday came out against USDA's plans to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. A webinar about the proposed reorganization and moves is set for Thursday, organized by a statistics organization...

Monday marked 50 days until Election Day, which you probably figured out already if you watched any football or local news over the weekend.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who also chairs the House-Senate farm bill conference committee, said late Wednesday that Congress is running out of time to finish the farm bill conference report before the current bill expires on September 30.

With Congress back in session, formal opposition has increased among organizations to USDA's plan announced last month to move the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture out of Washington, D.C.

The House and Senate farm bill conferees are scheduled to meet Wednesday morning in a Senate caucus room to begin formal talks on the farm bill.

Nationally, farmers are expected to earn $9.8 billion less in net farm income for 2018 than they earned in 2017, USDA's Economic Research Service posted Thursday.